GS Overview

Gender Studies Foundations 110

This unit invites students to interact with each other and with teachers and social activists from inside and outside the university on the question of what it means today to be male or female, and what it has meant for past generations. We consult some of the key texts in women's studies, gender and sexuality, like those of Mary Wollstonecraft, Simone de Beauvoir, Jessica Benjamin and Bob Connell. We turn our attention to some important issues including: body image and the internalisation of power; the cultural and psycho-sexual dynamics of domination and violence; ideas of equality at work, at home, and at school; and the changing nature of masculinity and femininity in Australia. A new way of conducting classes using elements of enquiry-based learning has led to the introduction of collaborative, self-designed assessment projects. The unit is interdisciplinary, with input from politics, education, ancient history, Indigenous studies and more, as well as from sociology and gender studies. It can be taken as a one-off elective in any degree, or in pursuit of a major or minor in Gender Studies. Both male and female students are warmly welcome.